if it's not EXILE , then it will be B'z since they're going to put out their ultra treasure best album to commentrate their 20th anniversary in the business

maybe Jacky , you know how Japan love best albums a lot

then again let's just wait to see the stats of both best albums when they roll out

I would also break down if Hikki gets bumped out of the top 5... :dead2 I don't know why but I have a feeling Ayu's (in)Complete Singles Collection will sell well...

I don't know really but I'm just happy that HS's officially the highest selling female album of the year which she should be really happy !

I don't know which other female artistes will be putting out albums in due time . 1 of them I know's Anna Tsuchiya but the selling power of hers's not there so I don't think anyone should be worry that much .

I want new material from Utada now :weep

Let's put in this way. It's for sure that HS will be the best selling female STUDIO album of this year. I dun think any female artist will surpass her this year. I dun really care if HS gets bump out of top 5 or not, as long as HS will be selling over a million in the end. :D

WAHHH I loved HS i hope it doesnt get overtaken easily she deserves to be up there she has such a strong and beatiful voice :)

I'm definitely sure since the selling power for the rest of the female solo acts that I support , theirs's not as strong/great as Utada's one

in fact even up to now , I'm still very surprised that HS sold even more than UB domestically in Japan despite the fact that 1/2 of HS was put out before the announcement of a full album .

What do you think attributes to such high sales of HS as compared to UB ? The quality of the songs on the album or intensive marketing plot coming from EMI ?

I agree the yearly chart looks bad anyway so I don't care from the yearly positions just that albums I like will do good :D

Hell to the no. Namie's album only got a Ninki of 283... not good if she's going for the million. That album will top out at 800k.

Ayumi's best will do crap, I'm sure. At $40, I'm pretty sure it won't do over 600k, especially with AB2 just being released last year.

B'z already released one best this year... and it is not going to hit the million mark. Its sales have been dropping off like crazy, and it's only at 816k right now. Somehow I doubt a second best album will do better.

that's true to a certain extent although their ultra pleasure best album's certified million by RIAJ .

ANYWAY ...

What do you think attributes to such high sales of HS as compared to UB domestically ie. in Japan .

The quality of the songs on HS or intensive marketing plot coming from EMI ?

Or, the singles did much better. FOL did ~700k, BW/K&C did 250k, and POL was a huge smash success (even though it was a recut). This time around, Hikki got a fresh new image and a renewed sense of importance and relevance in the music industry. Quite a few people had written her off as "over" during the UB period because of her poor single choices. This time, she is back and attracting tons of new fans.

lol

spoken like a true fan Triple D :laugh

honestly if the ballad version of FOL wasn't used as the insert song to promote HYD 2 , do you think it would have done so well on such a big grand scale ?

Would FOL have done well? I think it would've gotten at least 300k, because it seems like a song that would tug and people's heartstrings with or without the drama. I feel like the drama didn't make people like the song, it was just a way for more people to hear Hikki's music. You can hear a song over and over again from a TV show, and if it's a bad song, people won't automatically like it. It's JUST like doing CMs or other tie-ins; it's just a way to get the music out there for people to hear it.

^ that's true , I understand where you're coming from .

I actually never like the ballad version of FOL to begin with , not even the original take on FOL but something happened after I watched both the HYD dodrama series :laugh

^Probably watching it so many times makes you enjoy it. But I think a song has to be good to begin with to be successful, it can't just rely on tie-ins. I mean, why did FOL do better than the last insert song, "Planetarium" by Otsuka Ai? And why did it do better than "Love So Sweet"?

The success of FoL and PoL.
FoL was really catchy song and did fit into that good rating drama and was a success.
Same goes for PoL. That's why HS had success and sold more than UB.

I guess so

somemore the 2nd season has even more episodes than the 1st season . That probably played a part as to why the theme & insert songs for the 2nd season of HYD did even better , sales wise than the 1st batch of songs that was used to promote the 1st season .

Nowadays whenever I play the ballad version of FOL , I always remember the last episode of the 2nd season when it was played during the show which was really aww

I would say after watching the drama , it makes me appericate both the theme & insert songs that was used in both seasons now

Even though UB was the better album >.>~

I don't often get Japan's taste in music, usually it's totally opposite what western fans like. Like that Shushin or whatever that almost beat out MW >.>... I don't get why Japan disliked UB so much, but whatever >.>

So there's still NO new news whatsoever? Seriously? It's been what... two, three months since POL?

for me, i never really liked FOL all too much. but when i saw HYD in the beginning of the year, i just started to love it, lol. it sooooo connects with the drama's storylines in the second season.

I 2nd that . I honestly prefer UB more than HS that's why even up to now , I'm still stunned at the unexpected success of the sales of HS in Japan

sometimes it's funny on how certain situations work against your favor & yes regarding SCS , I also don't understand why they can almost whack MW from getting the top spot & even though that didn't happened , they still outsell MW in the long run :O

haha :laugh

I never really understand why the ballad version of FOL was that good to begin with but after I watched the 2nd HYD series , now I understand why .

Nowadays whenever I re-watched HYD again , I always like it when FOL's being played now LOL

& there's of course the last episode of the 2nd season when it was played too :innocent so touching :weep

I think HS is a more cohesive album than UB, and it isn't so uneven. I hated how ULTRA BLUE would start off amazing ("This is Love", "Keep Tryin'", "BLUE") and then fall so hard ("Nichiyou no Asa"), and then get amazing again ("Making Love", "Dareka no...", "COLORS", ONM) and then fall again... ("海路")... and then get good again ("WINGS") and then suck so bad ("Be My Last", "Eclipse") and end on a very... odd note ("Passion"). The great thing about HS is that I can listen to the whole thing without wanting to skip at all. I sing along to all the songs and really have fun with it. However, I did have to change the tracklisting as well as the cover art to REALLY enjoy it. Bye-bye, FOL -Original Version-!